Rosario Islands
A coral archipelago an hour away by boat, clear water and white beaches.
Duration
7 hrs – 9 hrs
Difficulty
●●○○○
Best time
First departure of the day
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
The archipelago has about thirty coral islands roughly an hour by boat from Cartagena, a national park since 1977. The reef is one of the few still living on Colombia's Caribbean coast.
The standard day is a crossing, a stop at a beach — often Playa Blanca on Barú island, recently linked by road — and snorkelling on the reef. Boats leave early and come back in the middle of the afternoon, when the sea gets up.
Getting there
Departures from the Muelle de la Bodeguita in Cartagena. Playa Blanca is also reachable by the Barú road, an hour by car.
What the price covers
boat crossing charged, plus a port tax and an entry fee for the nature park
What to bring
- Mask and snorkel
- Reef shoes
Rules on site
The port tax and the park fee are paid in cash at the quay, on top of the ticket: budget for them. The vendors at Playa Blanca are persistent — agree the price before accepting anything, massages included.
Other places in Cartagena
- The walled cityEleven kilometres of ramparts around streets of wooden balconies and bougainvillea.
- GetsemaníThe old working quarter outside the walls, its murals and its square full of musicians in the evening.
- Castillo San Felipe de BarajasThe largest Spanish fortress in the Americas, with its network of tunnels.
- El Totumo mud volcanoA crater filled with warm mud where you float without sinking.